US moves to address Brazil, Mexico concerns after tapping scandal

US President Barack Obama has pledged to work with Brazil and Mexico to address their concerns over US spying revealed in recent NSA leaks. The agency was alleged to have intercepted emails sent by Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff.

Rousseff appeared to climb down from her earlier position and
told reporters Friday that a planned visit to Washington next
month may proceed as planned as Obama had taken responsibility
for what had happened, regarding the NSA's spying activities. She
said that the US president had agreed to respond formerly to the
allegations by next Wednesday.

"My trip to Washington depends on the political conditons to be
vreated by President Obama," said Rousseff according to the
Brazilian presidency's Twitter feed.

The two leaders sat next to each other at the first plenary
session of G20 leaders and a White House official confirmed to
Reuters that they spoke about the NSA eavesdropping, but
the source provided no details.

Rousseff had been cited by media as being ‘furious’ about the
fresh report of NSA surveillance of the country’s leadership, and
Brazil’s government has given the US until the end of the week to
provide a written explanation.

Although the US has acknowledged Brazil’s concerns, so far the
White House appeared to be sidestepping calls for an apology.

"We understand how important this is to the Brazilians. We
understand their strength of feeling on the issue," Ben
Rhodes, deputy US national security adviser, said on Wednesday.

"What we're focused on is making sure the Brazilians
understand exactly what the nature of our intelligence effort
is," he added, while stating that Washington would work with
Brasilia to resolve the dispute through "diplomatic and
intelligence channels."

The new allegations that the NSA spied on the presidents of
Brazil and Mexico were revealed on Sunday during Rede Globo’s
popular news program Fantastico. The report was based on
information provided to American journalist Glenn Greenwald by
former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.

Among the information contained in the September 1 broadcast were
allegations that the NSA intercepted both emails and telephone
calls between the Brazilian head of state and her top advisers.

Reaction on the part of Brazil’s government was immediate, with
Foreign Minister Luiz Alberto Figueiredo summoning the American
ambassador for an explanation on the report.

The Latin American nation is now threatening to take its case to
the United Nations, and has also requested an official apology
from the US in addition to a written explanation on the matter.

The report comes at a sensitive time in US-Brazilian relations,
as President Rousseff is due to arrive in Washington in October
for a high profile state visit.

Rousseff’s government has now given indication that the trip will
hinge on the US response. In what many believe to be a warning
shot, Brazil has already scrubbed a trip by officials to the US
in preparation for the state visit.

Meanwhile Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto told RT that
America would have to come up with some extravagant measures to
try and mend relations that have been damaged by the NSA spying
revelations.

“The Mexican government called on the US to conduct a thorough
investigation into who is responsible for the spying if it really
happened,” Nieto said. He asked Obama about “actions his
administration would take in order to make this investigation
happen and clarify the issues that have been surfaced
recently…certain measures have to be taken, there must be
consequences.”